The monument-well commemorating the great Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was erected in 1787 on the initiative of Samuel Luther Geret (1730–1797) and was located at the intersection of Kopernika and Piekary Streets (on the corner of the street in front of the house, which at that time was considered to be Copernicus' birthplace). It had the form of a slender marble pyramid, 5.7 m high, placed on a marble pedestal. It was at the same time a water pump with a spout and a lever and an obelisk. The top of the pyramid was originally decorated with a hand pointing towards the sky, holding a compass and measuring the celestial sphere. The monument survived less than a hundred years.